Flanger



(No Model.) I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

. T. H. PENNELL.

I FLANGER. No. 544,575. Patented Aug. 1 3, 1895.

WITNESSES:

ATTOR N EYS.

2 t e e h S w e e h S 2 L mm H mm A L n H MW d 0 M O w Patented Aug.13,1895.

INVENTOR S E S S E N W W ATTORNEYS.

emcee Sra'rns PATENT Cri ics.

TIMOTHY H. FENNELL, OF EAST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

FLANGER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 544,575, dated August13, 1 895.

I Application filed March 20, 1895. Serial No. 542,520. (lilo model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, TIMOTHY H. FENNELL, of East Hartford, in the countyof Hartford, in the State of Connecticut, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Flangers, of which the following, taken'in connectionwith the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

Myinvention relates to rail-dangers adapted to clear out the snow andice which may accumulate adjacent to the inner edge of the tread ofrailway-rails and make room for the flanges of the wheels.

My object is to produce a flanger adapted to be vertically movablebymeans of a connection to the air-pressure pipes of a locomotive ortrain adapted to swing more or less forward and back, provided withmeans to permit it to strike an obstacle and yield so as to passit,provided with a counterbalance to permit it to be more easily movedvertically, and having an outercutting-edge adapted to clear away theice outside of the rail, and a depressed cutting-edge adapted to clearaway that which is inside thereof, so as to permit the tread of thewheel to bear properly upon the rail.

My invention consists in the several novel features of construction andoperation hereinafter described and which are specifically set forth inthe claims hereunto annexed. It is constructed as follows, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sideelevation of part of acar to which the fianger is connected. Fig. 2 isan enlarged transverse sectional elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is adetail of the crank and pitman by which the fianging cutters are raisedor lowered. Fig. 4 is a detail of part of one of the retaining-chainshaving a weakened link which will bend or give and straighten out when acutter strikes an obstacle and prevent breakage of more expensive partsor the derailment of a car.

Ais the bed of a car, and 2 2 are verticallyslotted brackets secured tothe sides thereof. 3 is a shaft journaled across said bed and providedwith cranks 4: 4 intermediate its length and crank-arms 5 5 upon-itsends, and having also a central crank-arm 6, to which. is

I connected a pitman '7, which in turn is connected to a piston withinthe air-cylinder 8 under the car and connected to the air-coinpressingapparatus upon the locomotive in any ordinary manner.

Links 9 connect the cranks 4 to the shaft 10, the extremities of whichare mounted and vertically movable in slots 11 in the brackets 2, andcollars 12, loose upon said shaft, bearing against said brackets toprevent any endwise movement, as hereinafter described.

B B are the flangers comprising a body of suitable material providedwith a hardened cutting-edge l3, operative to clear away the ice outsideof a rail, and a depressed cutting-edge 14, operative to cut out the iceinside of the rail and closely adjacent thereto. In Fig. 1 it will beseen by the dotted lines that these cuttingedges are angularly projectedtoward the ends of the car to cause them to out better. Hangers 15 16hinge the flangers to the shaft 3.

17 is a sleeve between the hangers 16 to retain them in their relativepositions, and sleeves 18, exterior to the hangers 15, and springs a,bearing against said sleeves and the collars 12, permit said fiangers toslide laterally upon said shaft, as when the car is going around a curveor whenever lateral inward pressure is brought against either one ofthem. The collars 12 are provided with eyes 19, to which the ends of thechains 20 are secured, their other ends being secured in any ordinarymanner to the bottom of the car, so that said shaft is substantiallyprevented from movement toward either end of the car.

Draw-bars 21 are secured to the car and to a frame 22, mounted under thecar, and 23 23 are chains secured to said draw-bars and to the oppositesides of the flangers, with a little slack, so that each fianger canswing back when in operation to give better presentation of thecutting-edge to the work. Each chain 23 is provided with one weak link,as 24,

shown as weakened by cutting away one side thereof or reduced instrength in any other manner, as by making it of smaller wire or ofweaker material than the rest of the chain.

As shown, when a flanger strikes an obstruction which does not yield,the additional strain will straighten out the weak'link or break it, andthis will be the only damage. When the air in the cylinder is under highpressure, the .pitman 7 will operate. said cranks 4 to raise and holdthe flangers clear of the track, and

7 when it is reduced they will be lowered close to or onto the rails inoperative position. To aid in the operation of raising and lowering,rods 25 are connected to the crank-arms 5 and support thecounterbalmice-weights 26, which substantially balance the flan gers.These weights are cased in, as at 27. An arm 28 is also secured upon theshaft 3 and provided with a socket, (indicated by the dotted lines) andthe dotted lines 29 indicate a hand-lever inserted through a hole, slot,or trap-door in the floor of the car, by which the shaft 3 can beoperated by hand to raise or lower the hangers, as when there is noair-pressure in the cylinder.

In order to avoid operating the brakes by operating the piston to raiseor lower the flangers this cylinder should be independent of theair-brake cylinder, though it maybe connected to the ordinarytrain-pipe.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

1. The combination with a car, of a vertically movable shaft, bracketsunder the car having slots receiving said shaft, flangers mounted uponsaid shaftso as to swing thereon and provided with cutting edges,springs engaging with said brackets and said flangers and means to raiseand lower said shaft.

2. lhe combination with a car, of a crank shaft journaled under it, anair pressure cylinder under the car, a pitnlan rod connecting it to acrank-arm on said crank shaft, hangers secured beneath the car andprovided with vertical slots, a shaft mounted therein, links connectingit to cranks upon the crank shaft, flangers mounted and adapted to swingupon said shaft, and weakened stay-chains connected to said flangors andto the car.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand on this 15th day ofMarch, 1895.

TIMOTHY Il. FENNELL.

In presence of B. R. POLLOCK, HOWARD P. DENISON.

